Chapter 427: A Lineage Passed Down (First Update!)
The Village Chief followed the man forward, noticing traces of battle within Fengdu City. Occasionally, he could see many gods and demons besieging paper men and paper horses, and he couldn't help but feel puzzled.
"Fengdu has just been through a great war. The Yan King personally led us in resisting the Netherworld."
The man said, "This isn't the first time. We've fought many times before. This time, the Netherworld invaded because they've been observing the world outside the Great Ruins. They believe the Yankang Calamity is about to erupt, so they came to harvest souls. We drove them back."
The Village Chief was horrified. The Fengdu world was at war with the Netherworld world?
He had no idea such a thing was happening in the darkness of the Great Ruins!
Two worlds at war, yet the Great Ruins remained calm and peaceful, with no trace or clue to be detected—truly unbelievable!
As for the "Yankang Calamity" and "harvesting souls" his master mentioned, those were even more terrifying, sending chills down his spine. The information contained in his master's few words was too much, forcing him to think deeply.
Moreover, Fengdu had already fought against the Netherworld many times before. This also concealed many unknown secrets.
They arrived at a mansion. The man knocked on the door and said to the old man who opened it, laughing, "You old bastard, I've brought your disciple's disciple to see you! Good disciple, come quickly and meet your master's master!"
The Village Chief kicked him in the backside and said angrily, "How dare you speak to my master's master like that? He's still your master, show some respect!"
The man was also furious: "He tricked me into this path. Do you know how much I've suffered? Wife and children separated, friends all dead. Calling him an old bastard is letting him off easy! Besides, I'm your master. Where's your respect? Your temper's gotten worse—you need a beating!"
"Stop arguing!"
The old man was also furious: "Both of you are Human Sovereigns, yet you argue and fight the moment you meet. What kind of example is that? I'll take you to see my master. That old bastard will be delighted to see you dead too!"
The Village Chief and the burly man were both displeased. The Village Chief said, "Master's master, although he is your master, he is also my grand-master. Calling him an old bastard seems disrespectful."
The old man sneered repeatedly: "That old bastard tricked me into becoming a Human Sovereign, ruining my life with endless hardship and no joy at all. If he weren't already dead, I'd beat that old scoundrel to death! Come on, I'll take you to see him!"
The Village Chief and the burly man exchanged glances. The burly man tightened his clothes and said in a low voice, "Good disciple, you've passed down the position of Human Sovereign, haven't you?"
The Village Chief nodded.
The burly man let out a breath of foul air and said, "After your disciple dies, he'll come here to curse and beat you, saying you ruined his life."
The Village Chief grew nervous and shook his head, saying, "Mu'er is a good child. He wouldn't do that. Mu'er is the most filial..."
The burly man sneered, "I thought that after you died and came here, you'd embrace me with tears streaming down your face. Instead, you kicked me the moment you arrived! If you're like this, what about your disciple? Just wait until he dies and comes to beat you! By the way, did you ever deceive him?"
The Village Chief's face darkened, and he stammered, "I tricked him into believing he was a Dominator Body. He worked really hard."
"What Dominator Body?" The old man leaned in, quite curious.
The Village Chief explained the whole story. The two dead men were dumbfounded, speechless for a long time, and could only give the Village Chief a thumbs-up.
"You're doomed!"
They both said repeatedly, "You deceived him the worst. You're doomed! Although we also tricked our disciples, we never went this far. You, on the other hand, made him live his entire life in a huge lie. After he dies, he won't just kick you or call you an old bastard!"
The Village Chief's face was as dark as charcoal, and he consoled himself, "Mu'er won't be like that, won't be like that. Mu'er is the most filial..."
"You were also very filial back then. You were originally the most filial to me, yet you still kicked me off the bridge the moment we met."
"Shut up, you old wretch!"
...
The Flood Dragon King God followed the trail of the wounded deity all the way to the Divine Severance Mountain Range. Qin Mu forcibly suppressed his own weakness, refining medicinal pills to heal the Flood Dragon King God.
Controlling the Moon Boat consumed a tremendous amount of his energy. The moon on the Moon Boat was also a treasure refined by the Zi Qing deity, but it had gone dark and no longer emitted light, unable to provide the massive power the Moon Boat needed. To control the Moon Boat, it had to draw on Qin Mu's life force.
Last time, when Qin Mu fished out a new sun for the Mu Ri tribe, he had already expended a great deal of life force. Only by soaking in the Pure Yang Pool did he barely recover. This time, controlling the Moon Boat also caused immense depletion. Unfortunately, the Moon Boat was damaged far more severely than the Sun Boat. The Tai Yin Pool had dried up, unable to replenish life force, so he could only rely on his own skills as a divine physician to slowly recuperate.
But now, he needed to pursue the wounded deity and couldn't let him escape into Yankang. There was no time to treat himself.
"This deity from the Upper Heavens didn't take the Yong River route..."
Qin Mu's eyelid twitched, and his heart sank.
If the Upper Heavens deity had taken the Yong River route, he could have used the Yong River Dragon King to intercept him. With the combined combat power of the Yong River Dragon King and the Flood Dragon King God, they should have been able to capture him.
But since he didn't take the Yong River, even if the Flood Dragon King God caught up to him, it was uncertain whether the Flood Dragon King God's combat power alone would be enough to take him down.
"If I use the Dragon Taming Lord's Dragon Control Art to borrow the power of the flood dragon group, there might still be a chance to fight."
Qin Mu looked back at the flood dragons following the Dragon Qilin, feeling reluctant. In a desperate battle, these flood dragons would likely be wiped out, and even he himself might not survive.
At the edge of the Great Ruins, in the Divine Severance Mountain Range, three to four thousand miles away from them, the fierce battle was still ongoing. Qin Mu could sense bursts of terrifying tremors from time to time—the fluctuations of divine and demonic combat power erupting, pressing down on the mind.
He could also vaguely see the Butcher's blade light flashing in the sky, and the Mute's furnace exploding, turning the sky a blazing red.
Without the Village Chief's powerful presence, how many of the Butcher, the Wing King, the Mute, and the others would survive?
"Village Chief..."
Qin Mu's heart ached. He quickly cast aside distracting thoughts and continued to focus on refining pills and healing the Flood Dragon King God.
Ahead, the sky grew pale. After a moment, the sun rose from below the horizon, and a ray of sunlight shone over.
Qin Mu's heart sank. That deity had already stepped into the territory of the Yankang Kingdom.
The celestial weapons of the gods were scattered across various parts of the Yankang Kingdom. If this deity found any one of them, the consequences would be catastrophic, with the number of dead commoners likely reaching into the billions!
The Flood Dragon King God's injuries had improved considerably, and his speed gradually increased. He followed the footprints of the Upper Heavens deity and suddenly said joyfully, "Master, that deity's injuries have flared up! His speed is slowing down! We'll catch up to him soon!"
Qin Mu relaxed and said, "Chase him boldly. His injuries are severe; otherwise, he would have disappeared without a trace long ago."
The Flood Dragon King God was indeed much more at ease. Although this giant flood dragon was immensely powerful, he was even less courageous than the Dragon Qilin, always acting timidly and hesitantly.
They chased three thousand miles into Yankang territory. The deity's speed grew slower and slower, the distance between them shrinking. The bloodstains left by his footsteps created a strange phenomenon, causing the surrounding grass and trees to grow wildly and flowers to bloom profusely. Clearly, his injuries had flared up, and he could no longer control the divine blood within him.
Suddenly, the divine blood disappeared, and the traces left by the deity also vanished.
"He noticed we're tracking him and deliberately hid his tracks!"
The Flood Dragon King God sniffed around but found no trace of the deity. Suddenly, he shook his body, and a flood of water spread out, transforming into countless water flood dragons that flew off in all directions.
Si Yunxiang flew into the air and looked around. Ahead, there was a city. She said, "Chief, ahead should be the southern city of Purple Thorn. Could that deity have gone there?"
Qin Mu tried to stand up from the dragon's back, but his legs gave way, and he nearly fell to his knees. He gasped for breath and said, "Purple Thorn City? Does our Sacred Sect have any influence there?"
"Yes. Purple Thorn City is on the border, close to the southern part of the Great Ruins. The climate is warm like spring all year round, making it suitable for raising exotic beasts. The Beast Hall's hall master is based here. They have a large industry, raising exotic beasts on the nearby mountains and selling them to the imperial army after they're grown."
Si Yunxiang's Si family managed the finances of the Heavenly Sacred Sect, so she was quite familiar with this. She said, "The Beast Hall is a very important source of wealth for our Sacred Sect."
Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "Let's go to Purple Thorn City. Notify the Beast Hall master to meet me. This Upper Heavens deity has entered Yankang, which means he's entered the territory of our Sacred Sect. If he wants to hide, how can he escape my notice?"
Si Yunxiang rode the Dragon Qilin ahead to Purple Thorn City, while Qin Mu led the dragon group to search around, moving a bit slower. Despite searching all the way, they still couldn't find any trace of the deity.
After a while, they arrived outside Purple Thorn City. Before entering the city, they saw a large man following Si Yunxiang as she walked quickly toward them, bowing in greeting. Qin Mu waved his hand and said, "Hall Master, do you have a way to track down a wounded deity?"
The Beast Hall master asked, "Chief, do you have any of his clothing?"
"No, but I did collect some of his divine blood along the way."
Qin Mu took out a small bottle of divine blood and asked, "Will this work?"
The Beast Hall master breathed a sigh of relief and whistled. Suddenly, a pack of large black dogs rushed out from outside Purple Thorn City. They had slender waists, necks, and legs, and moved extremely fast.
"These are hybrids of the Great Ruins celestial hounds and common dogs, best at tracking."
The Beast Hall master took the jade bottle and let the black dogs sniff the divine blood. The pack of black dogs leaped and ran like the wind, quickly disappearing into the distance. After a moment, the ground rumbled, and several massive creatures emerged from underground. They looked like giant porcupine-like rats but were larger than wild boars. The Beast Hall master also let these giant rats sniff the divine blood, and they too burrowed into the ground and vanished.
From the sky came the desolate cries of eagles. A flock of large birds flew over, and before they even landed, the ground was swept by wind and dust. A group of golden eagles with wingspans of several zhang landed. The Beast Hall master let them sniff the divine blood, and the eagles spread their wings and flew away.
"Chief, I also need to let the blood dragon eels in the rivers smell this divine blood."
The Beast Hall master said, "Those blood dragon eels are good at tracking through waterways."
Qin Mu praised, "Hall Master, you are thorough."
They walked into Purple Thorn City, and Qin Mu asked, "Are there any unusual celestial phenomena nearby? Like a stone statue emerging from the ground, or some treasure?"
"Right in the city. Over ten days ago, the city's famous Fragrant Well suddenly stopped producing water. Then the earth shook, and a large green gourd emerged from the well. It was five zhang tall, gilded, and covered with many runes that were completely unreadable."
The Beast Hall master said, "After that, the city magistrate ordered the area around the Fragrant Well to be sealed off, forbidding anyone from approaching. He said it was the emperor's order."
Qin Mu's heart stirred, and he said, "Let's go there!"
They quickly walked toward the Fragrant Well in the city. The Beast Hall master laughed and said, "Ahead is the Fragrant Well... Huh?"
In the sky, the golden eagles circled above them. Below, the pack of black dogs came running straight toward the Fragrant Well. The ground also rumbled, and giant rats occasionally poked their heads out of the sewers, looking around.
Qin Mu's heart leaped into his throat. That Upper Heavens deity was right here in the city, and near the Fragrant Well!
"Order everyone to leave Purple Thorn City immediately!"
—Today, there are still three updates. This is the first one.